Cincinnati police start using body cameras; rollout gradual

CINCINNATI (AP) — Cincinnati officials say some of the city’s police officers are starting to wear body cameras, launching a larger rollout that is expected to be done by year’s end.

Officials say about 700 such cameras will be deployed gradually, starting Wednesday with police covering Cincinnati’s central business district.

City officials have said officers don’t have to tell citizens that they’re being recorded. Officers will be required to activate the cameras in various emergency situations.

The previously planned start of the body camera rollout comes days after an officer’s fatal shooting of a knife-wielding robbery suspect on Sunday. He was the third suspect killed this year by an on-duty Cincinnati officer.

That altercation was seen on overhead surveillance video. The Hamilton County prosecutor reviewed the video and concluded the shooting was justified.